Ma Sharda Temple |
There I go drifting off
again....focusing on the main theme and starting from the beginning, let us
imagine, Sati, as a beautiful bride, who has been married for some time only
(though, beware, their timescape and ours do not match at all) is only too
eager to meet her own family, her mother Prasuti, father Daksha Prajapati,
uncountable number of sisters, her childhood friends, the little fawn that she
fed with her own hands...etc...etc..so, when news of Daksha's festivities reach
Kailash, she immediately, starts planning and packing her bags, throws in a few
socially acceptable outfits for her husband and waits for the cards to arrive.
The cards don't come, but the stipulated day for the festivities draw closer
and closer, and Sati in her desperation approaches Shiva to arrange for her to travel to her maternal home.
Shiva fervently tries to dissuade her
from visiting the Yagna. He tells her, “ Sati, we were not
invited.” To this Sati replies, “ why would I need an engraved invitation card
to go to my father’s house?” ?” Shiva continues to reason with her
and says, “Sati, it is not appropriate to gate crash a party, more so when, the
idea of this yajna was conceived with the sole purpose of humiliating me.” At
this Sati, retorted, “ if that is the case, then, more the reason for me to go
there and demand an explanation and an apology from Prajapati Daksha.”
Prajapati Daksha, guffawed and scornfully replied, "Yagneshwar!! my foot. He roams about naked, whiles his time doing nothing, mingles with ghosts, shares bhang with them, he is totally un-presentable in society. I still cannot fathom why you were so adamant about marrying him, but if you have done so, please refrain from requesting me to accept him as my son-in-law."
On learning about this catastrophe, Shiva emerged on the scene with Virbhadra and Bhadrakali and utter chaos and mayhem ensued. He took the charred body of Sati on his shoulders and started the 'Tandav', the dance of ultimate destruction. All of the creation shook and the Devas invoked Vishnu so that he could stop Mahadev from wiping out the entire creation.
If my readers have some patience left, then perhaps, I can start my
story, exactly from this point. The point where, "Mai" or mother
Sati's necklace or "har" fell, is said to named as Maihar. Here the
mother Goddess is worshipped as Ma Sharda. The princely state of Maihar was
once a part of Bundelkhand in the state that we now know as Madhya Pradesh. Maihar is a station in between Satna and Jabalpur and is situated almost 90 kms from Jabalpur.
Yes, my readers have got it right...I am here to visit the Sharda temple, and also to visit the mausoleum of Baba Alauddin Khan Sahab, which is no less a temple to me. I have never considered myself to be a devout hindu, nor am I a very religious person, and it would have been a daunting task to persuade my atheist husband to accompany me to any place, if it even remotely smelled of religion, let alone on a officially proclaimed pilgrimage. But as fate would have it, he had a conference scheduled in the nearby town of Rewa, and I somehow managed to make him agree to a visit here, as I argued, that it was only a matter of an extra day.
Shiva understood that he could not
overrule destiny and told Sati, ‘I see that you have made up your mind and I
will not come between a father and a daughter, however, I will not visit your
father’s house without a proper invitation. “ Saying so, he summoned Nandi,
Bhringi, Shringi and Shiv ganas and directed them to take Sati to her father’s
place, safely.
Sati reached the elaborately arranged
yajna site when the holy fires were being lit and in presence of all the supreme
Devas, Brahma, Vishnu, munis, rishis, her sisters, their husbands, she was
stopped in her tracks by her father. He quite blatantly pointed out to her, “ you and your husband are
not welcome here.” Sati felt humiliated, but she still continued to reason with her father. “ Prajapati, with all due respect, You have made a serious mistake by not inviting
Devadidev Mahadev, the Yagneshwar, the residing Lord of Yajnas. Do you think
that your yajna will be successful without his presence? You still have the
time to rectify the mistake by inviting him with all the respect due to him."
Prajapati Daksha, guffawed and scornfully replied, "Yagneshwar!! my foot. He roams about naked, whiles his time doing nothing, mingles with ghosts, shares bhang with them, he is totally un-presentable in society. I still cannot fathom why you were so adamant about marrying him, but if you have done so, please refrain from requesting me to accept him as my son-in-law."
Sati said, "father, this body was engendered by you, so I will not retain this body as it will be of utmost disrespect to my Lord. " Saying this she sat down to meditate and the light from her mind transformed into flames and engulfed her.
Sati's self-immolation |
Vishnu sent his Sudarshan Chakra spinning, and cut up Sati's body into 51 pieces, which fell across, 51 places across the world and they later came to be known as the 'Shakti Peeths'. These are extremely holy places of pilgrimage for the shakta sect of hinduism.
At Maihar Station |
I reached a nondescript Maihar station, around 11PM at night, (thanks to
a 7 hours late-running, Mumbai Mail) towards the end of January, shivering to
my bones, with my entire family and luggage in tow. As I emerged on the
platform, it felt downright eerie and desolate, not a single soul, not even a
stray dog was in sight. The only other soul who descended on the platform was a gentleman, who seemed well-equipped to fight the biting cold. As we trudged down to the gate of the station, our spirits sank to see
that there was not a single vehicle to carry us to "Surbahar" the
MPTDC hotel and the only worthwhile accomodation in this desolate town.
Puja offerings |
We were in for a bit of luck as the gentleman, took pity on us and offered us a lift in his jeep. It turned out that he was a manager in the Birla Cement
factory, near Maihar, one of the innumerable cement factories located here owing to the abundance of limestone deposits in the area, which is a major raw material for cement production. He was God-sent in every aspect of the word.
A hot bath at an unearthly hour at the cosy
hotel, suddenly shot up our appetite and the ghee smeared chappati with paneer
masala, salad and mixed vegetables, felt like the best ever meal that I had tasted at almost 1:00 in the morning.
Yes, my readers have got it right...I am here to visit the Sharda temple, and also to visit the mausoleum of Baba Alauddin Khan Sahab, which is no less a temple to me. I have never considered myself to be a devout hindu, nor am I a very religious person, and it would have been a daunting task to persuade my atheist husband to accompany me to any place, if it even remotely smelled of religion, let alone on a officially proclaimed pilgrimage. But as fate would have it, he had a conference scheduled in the nearby town of Rewa, and I somehow managed to make him agree to a visit here, as I argued, that it was only a matter of an extra day.
Flower seller early morning |
Ropeway to Trikut Hill |
Mata Sharda Mandir atop Trikut hill |
After reaching the top, which offered a magnificient view of the surrounding tableland, I offered my Puja to Devi Sharda and would have liked to spend some more time in the serene surroundings, but as with most hindu pilgrimage sites, we were herded out with the other devotees. This leaves such a bitter taste in the mouth that it keeps me wondering about the worthiness of making a pilgrimage at all.
Baba's Mazar |
Our next stop was Baba Alauddin Khan's home and Mausoleum. Baba, as he is fondly known across Maihar, was the forefather of the Maihar Senia gharana of Hindustani Classical music. He revolutionised Hindustani Classical music, by bringing about a reneissance in Hindustani Classical Instrumental music. To those who are passionate about music, this would qualify as a pilgrimage too.
Baba Ustad Alauddin Khan's Home at Maihar |
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